The Practice of Practice: Get Better Faster

this is a great book. i implemented many techniques from the book immediately and could tell a great improvement in my practicing and playing almost immediately. Thanks for the great work Jon!

Harnum was written a book with answers to some practice questions but he also asks more questions. This gives the reader much to think about.

Not the easiest read, but this book was written with the heart. Therefore, I'll rate it a five star product!

Learning to produce music from an instrument is tricky and to spend endless hours trying to learn to master an instrument without measurable improvement is disastrous. You may think you can just pick up the skills magically but for most of us, it just ain’t so. This book discusses the things that work and those that would deny you of progress and many tips are provided from famous musicians and scientists. Well worth the read.Only criticism would be many links to websites are now broken or out of date, but the internet never stays the same for long so I can’t really be that critical on that point.So, as someone once said, if you are on a journey, have a plan. This book can help you plan and be more productive with your precious practice time.

I loved this book. Immensely helpful in my quest to evolve as a guitarist. I’ve quoted passages to friends and family. It is clearly written with wonderful quotes. Short digestible chapters. Humor. Covering everything from the big picture to specific techniques. This book is a gift. Thank you Jonathan!

I can't say enough about how good this book is. I'm in my mid fifties and just took up mandolin. I've been a practitioner of different arts throughout my years and wish Jonathan had written this book 30 years ago.This book has helped me develop a much more effective practice discipline. Moving on to his music theory book now. Thank you Jonathan! Excellent work sir!

As a total nerd when it comes to understanding things, the first half of this book was a great introduction to the science behind effective practice. The second half was full of great suggestions for techniques to accomplish this. Fantastic book! My one very minor suggestion would be a list of action steps at the end because there are so many great ideas. But then again the act of making that list yourself would have its own value. Jonathan, very well executed.

Practice of Practice by Jonathan Harnum is a tour de force on the subject of how, when, why and if not, really how, musicians actually practice. The book is full of quotes and ideas from master musicians from Leo Kottke to concert masters to pop divas. The 40 chapters are each short and to the point. The “extensions” at the end of each chapter give access to excellent resources and performances.Jonathan draws from neuroanatomy, learning theories, experts, his own experience, giving us a wonderful collection of anecdotes, theories, approaches, techniques, and approaches to practice. Jonathan is encyclopedic, without being pedantic, informative but entertaining is his writing. If you have heard a concept or approach applied to practice, or the theory behind learning theory, Jonathan, anticipating, has included if for our education and improvement in our personal practice. There are even suggestions for “guerrilla” practice and for quick tricks. ‘Jonathan is not a big fan of practice rooms, nor of long hours of scales and arpeggios. His suggestions vary from alternating half and full speed to get passages up to speed, to chaining and back chaining to memorize, to short burst practice sessions called guerrilla sessions, to group participation. He recommends trying out the many ideas and selecting those which work for each student. It’s a very refreshing approach to an age old problem, solving the mystery of how to get students to practice. Jonathan feels practice should be fun intriguing the student to partake.The book is very well written and edited. The images are few but fill out the text they relate to very well. The notes are at the end of each chapter and while not huge in number are very large in interest and applicability. The extensions are onto the web and add greatly to the book. At about 250 pages, this is not a small book, but is very approachable and useful.I recommend the book for any and all music educators and all serious students of music. In fact, I have ordered copies for my current two major mentors and my musically inclined son. I read it in e-book format, but the book is so good I have ordered a hard copy for reference.

Having recently taken a course on “how to practice to perform” , this book came along at exactly the right time for me. An excellent read and full of value for performers and students wanting to know how to go to the next level. Don’t hesitate , just buy it!

An excellent description that I could have benefitted from right from the day I first picked up an instrument.It is not a short read, and uses illustrations from a type of music that is not my favourite - but, strangely, I found those were advantages. I could pick out the fundamental points without being distracted.I cannot think of any sort of musician - ear-learned or dot-reader, folk or classical, drummer or organist, beginner or professional - who would not find this book useful

Good book, although not quite what I was expecting. I was looking for practical tips on how to improve my mandolin practice, and there were a few of those, but the tone of this book is more inspirational rather than giving practical exercises. Easy read, written in a pleasant style I can relate to, all in all happy that I bought it.

très pertinent...

Some nice insights, and some interesting external resources.